With the positivity rate hovering above 33 per cent in Delhi and hospitals overflowing with patients, the national capital has emerged as the worst hotspot of the ongoing second wave of the pandemic. The woeful governance of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has come to the fore and his reported failures have seemingly given a revival chance to BJP which has struggled in Delhi lately.
As reported by TFI, the Delhi High court had pulled up the Delhi government over its mishandling of the pandemic. A seemingly angry Court told the Aam Aadmi Party government that it will ask the Centre to take over ‘if you cannot manage it’.
The High Court said, “Set your house in order. If you cannot manage it, we will ask the central government to takeover.” In a worrying observation, the Court observed that the government authorities appeared completely unaware about the ground realities and are just issuing ‘unreasonable orders’
Moreover, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act (GNCTD), 2021, came into force on Tuesday, April 27, paving way for Lieutenant Governor (L-G) over the elected government in the city.
While Kejriwal may have found it as an excuse to unload his responsibilities on the centre and LG once again, the Ministry of Home Affairs by releasing a press release reiterated that health and other state subjects still came under the decision-making process of the AAP government.
“The amendments to the GNCTD Act, 1991, in no way alter the constitutional and legal responsibilities of the elected government to take necessary action, in respect of the subjects transferred to them in the State and Concurrent Lists of the Constitution of India, including subjects such as health, education, etc,” the Home Ministry said in a press release.
MHA also clarified that “the objective of the Amendment Act is to make it more relevant to the needs of the Capital; further define the responsibilities of the elected Government and the Lt. Governor (LG); and, create a harmonious relationship between the Legislature and the Executive”.
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The Union government came up with the decision to pass an amendment to the Government of Delhi bill because the Supreme Court gave a decision in January 2019 that the Council of Ministers of Delhi does not need to seek the ‘concurrence’ of the LG on day-to-day issues of governance. However, since then, Kejriwal took the powers regarding the governance of the city for granted and stopped consultation with LG on most of the issues.
BJP needs to activate its ground workers on a scale to help the masses and simultaneously expose the failings of the Kejriwal government. Despite having a year to prepare for any future mishaps, the AAP government did not take the requisite steps to arrest the slide.
Instead, it brazenly splurged money on advertisements – allegedly spending close to Rs 150 crore in the first three months of the year alone. And now while the city is struggling to get through, Kejriwal is reportedly more interested in ribbon-cutting ceremonies of covid centres that have been constructed by the centre — further rubbing in on the misery of Delhites who have been cramped in their households due to the lockdown imposed by none other than Mr Kejriwal.
If only he had shown the same resolve in constructing few hospitals and covid centres of his own, the situation might not have been as dire as it is now.